Ying, Master, father of Ying the Elder and Ying Po-chüeh, deceased silk merchant of Ch’ing-ho.
Ying Pao, eldest son of Ying Po-chüeh, recommends his friend Lai-yu to Hsi-men Ch’ing who employs him as a servant and changes his name to Lai-chüeh.
Ying Po-chüeh, Ying the Second, Sponger Ying, Beggar Ying, son of the deceased silk merchant Master Ying, younger brother of Ying the Elder, father of Ying Pao and two daughters by his wife, née Tu, and a younger son by his concubine Ch’un-hua; having squandered his patrimony and fallen on hard times he has been reduced to squiring wealthy young rakes about the licensed quarters and living by his wits; boon companion and favorite crony of Hsi-men Ch’ing, member of the brotherhood of ten; a clever and amusing sycophant and opportunist he has the art to openly impose on Hsi-men Ch’ing and make him like it while he is alive and the gall to double-cross him without compunction as soon as he is dead.
Ying Po-chüeh’s concubine. See Ch’un-hua.
Ying Po-chüeh’s elder daughter, married with the financial assistance of Hsi-men Ch’ing.
Ying Po-chüeh’s grandfather, friend of Licentiate Shui’s grandfather.
Ying Po-chüeh’s second daughter, after the death of her father she is proposed by Auntie Hsüeh as a match for Ch’en Ching-chi but turned down by P’ang Ch’un-mei for lack of a dowry.
Ying Po-chüeh’s son by his concubine Ch’un-hua.
Ying Po-chüeh’s wife, née Tu, mother of Ying Pao and two daughters.
Ying the Second. See Ying Po-chüeh.
Ying, Sponger. See Ying Po-chüeh.
Yu, Loafer. See Yu Shou.
Yu Shou, Loafer Yu, a dissolute young scamp upon whom Hsi-men Ch’ing turns the tables by abusing the judicial system.
Yung-ting, page boy in the household of Wang Ts’ai.
Yü, Big Sister, blind professional singer in Ch’ing-ho frequently invited into Hsi-men Ch’ing’s household to entertain his womenfolk and their guests.
Yü Ch’un, Stupid Yü, one of the “cribbers” in the licensed quarter of Ch’ing-ho who plays the tout to Wang Ts’ai on his visits to the licensed quarter and upon whom Hsi-men Ch’ing turns the tables by abusing the judicial system at the behest of Lady Lin.
Yü-erh. See Sun Hsüeh-o.
Yü-hsiao, Jade Flute, senior maidservant of Wu Yüeh-niang, carries on an affair with Shu-t’ung the discovery of which by P’an Chin-lien leads him to abscond and return to his native Su-chou; after the death of Hsi-men Ch’ing agrees to be sent to the household of Chai Ch’ien in the Eastern Capital and is raped by Lai-pao on the way.
Yü, Licentiate, master of a girls’ school in his home in Ch’ing-ho where P’an Chin-lien studies for three years as a child.
Yü-lou. See Meng Yü-lou.
Yü Shen (d. 1132), minister of war who suppresses Tseng Hsiao-hsü’s memorial impeaching Hsia Yen-ling and Hsi-men Ch’ing for malfeasance in the case of Miao Ch’ing, rewarded with the title grand guardian of the heir apparent for his part in facilitating the notorious Flower and Rock Convoys and the construction of the Mount Ken Imperial Park.
Yü, Stupid. See Yü Ch’un.
Yü-t’ang, employed in Chou Hsiu’s household as a wet nurse for Chou Chin-ko.
Yü-tsan, concubine of Li Kung-pi, originally maidservant of his deceased first wife, who enters his household as part of her dowry, reacts jealously to his marriage with Meng Yü-lou and is beaten by him and sold out of the household.
Yü-wen, Censor. See Yü-wen Hsü-chung.
Yü-wen Hsü-chung (1079–1146), Censor Yü-wen, supervising secretary of the Office of Scrutiny for War who submits a memorial to the throne impeaching Ts’ai Ching, Wang Fu, and Yang Chien.
Yüan, Commander, resident of Potter’s Alley in the Eastern Capital into whose family Li P’ing-erh is reincarnated as a daughter.
Yüan-hsiao, senior maidservant of Li Chiao-erh who is transferred to the service of Hsi-men Ta-chieh at the request of Ch’en Ching-chi after her former mistress leaves the household, accompanies her new mistress through her many vicissitudes while also putting up with the capricious treatment of Ch’en Ching-chi in whose service she dies after he is reduced to penury.
Yüan Yen, professional actor from Su-chou who specializes in playing subsidiary female roles.
Yüeh Ho-an, vice-magistrate of Ch’ing-ho.
Yüeh-kuei, concubine of Chou Hsiu much abused by P’ang Ch’un-mei.
Yüeh-niang. See Wu Yüeh-niang.
Yüeh the Third, next door neighbor of Han Tao-kuo on Lion Street who fences Miao Ch’ing’s stolen goods and suggests that he approach Hsi-men Ch’ing through Wang Liu-erh to get him off the hook for the murder of Miao T’ien-hsiu.
Yüeh the Third’s wife, close friend of Wang Liu-erh who acts as an intermediary in Miao Ch’ing’s approach to Hsi-men Ch’ing.
Yün, Assistant Regional Commander, elder brother of Yün Li-shou, hereditary military officer who dies at his post on the frontier.
Yün-ko. See Ch’iao Yün-ko.
Yün Li-shou, Welsher Yün, Yün the Second, younger brother of Assistant Regional Commander Yün, crony of Hsi-men Ch’ing, member of the brotherhood of ten, manager employed by Hsi-men Ch’ing in various of his enterprises, upon the death of his elder brother succeeds to his rank and the substantive post of vice commander of the Ch’ing-ho Left Guard, later appointed stockade commander of Ling-pi Stockade at Chi-nan where Wu Yüeh-niang seeks refuge with him from the invading Chin armies but dreams that he attempts to rape her.
Yün Li-shou’s daughter, betrothed while still a babe in arms to Hsi-men Hsiao-ko.
Yün Li-shou’s wife, née Su, proposes a marriage alliance to Wu Yüeh-niang while they are both pregnant and formally betroths her daughter to Hsi-men Hsiao-ko after the death of Hsi-men Ch’ing.
Yün, Little. See Ch’iao Yün-ko.
Yün, Prince of. See Chao K’ai.
Yün the Second. See Yün Li-shou.
Yün, Welsher. See Yün Li-shou.
THE PLUM IN THE GOLDEN VASE
Chapter 81
HAN TAO-KUO TAKES ADVANTAGE OF A CHANCE TO APPROPRIATE THE GOODS;
T’ANG LAI-PAO DEFRAUDS HIS MASTER AND DISREGARDS HIS BENEVOLENCE
All things are determined by Heaven,1 there is no
point in seeking to alter them;2
The Lord of Heaven’s control of just retribution
is both clear and inescapable.
Those who give rein to their lascivious thoughts
and defile the wives of others;
Will suffer the ingratitude of subordinates who
betray them and steal their goods.
Not to mention the fact that after one is dead
others will be up to their tricks;
It has ever been true that when one loses power
one’s servants will be ungrateful.
It is deplorable that Hsi-men Ch’ing should have
accumulated such unfavorable karma;
That he enabled unscrupulous scoundrels to enjoy
his wealth for half their lifetimes.
THE STORY GOES that after Hsi-men Ch’ing had entrusted Han Tao-kuo and Lai-pao with four thousand taels of silver and sent them to the Chiang-nan region to purchase goods, they proceeded along the way:
Imbibing the wind and resting by water.3
Stopping by night and traveling by day,
until they arrived in Yang-chou, where they sought out the home of Miao Ch’ing in order to secure accommodations. When Miao Ch’ing read Hsi-men Ch’ing’s handwritten note and remembered how he had done him:
The favor of saving his life,
he did everything in his power to entertain the two of them, enabling them to spend their days:
Scanning the flowers and inspecting the willows,
Drinking wine and seeking to gratify themselves.4
One day, early in the winter:
The frigid clouds were austere,
The crying geese were desolate,
The
trees were shedding leaves,5
The landscape had turned bleak,
Homesickness was insurmountable.6
Thereupon, the two of them exerted themselves to visit one place after another, spending their remaining resources to purchase piece goods, and storing them in Miao Ch’ing’s home preparatory to their departure.
Prior to this, Han Tao-kuo engaged the services of a singing girl named Wang Yü-chih from the Old Quarter in Yang-chou, whom he had patronized in the past, and Lai-pao engaged the services of the younger sister of Lin Ts’ai-hung, named Lin Hsiao-hung, to help them entertain the Yang-chou salt merchant Wang Ssu-feng and Miao Ch’ing on a daylong excursion to Pao-ying Lake, which was some distance from Yang-chou.
When they arrived back in the licensed quarter, it turned out to be the birthday of the madam of Wang Yü-chih’s establishment, and Han Tao-kuo invited them all to a party to celebrate Auntie Wang the First’s birthday. For this purpose, he sent his young employee Hu Hsiu to purchase wine and comestibles for the occasion, and also to invite the traveling merchants Wang Tung-ch’iao and Ch’ien Ch’ing-ch’uan to join them. Who could have anticipated that the two of them, along with Wang Ssu-feng, duly showed up, but Hu Hsiu did not return until sunset.
Han Tao-kuo, who was already somewhat inebriated, took him to task, saying, “Who knows where this rascal has been guzzling wine, only to show up now? He is reeking with alcohol, and our guests have already been here for what seems like half a day. Who knows where you have come from, but you can be sure I’ll reckon with you tomorrow.”
Hu Hsiu looked askance at him and left the room, muttering as he went, “You have some nerve to take me to task when at home your wife is:
Lying down with spread legs to solicit trade,
and you are here:
Clambering on top in order to drop your load.
Your master back at home is patronizing your wife and fucking the life out of her, which is the only reason he has entrusted capital to you to do business out of town. Meanwhile, you are enjoying yourself here while your wife is suffering who knows what at home. It’s only because no one has exposed your true state of affairs that you are still able to play the role of a decent human being.”
He said all this in the presence of Wang Yü-chih’s madam, who took him outside and admonished him, saying, “Master Hu, you are drunk. You’d better go into your room and sleep it off.”
Hu Hsiu, however:
Making all kinds of threatening noises,
refused to go into his room.
Who could have anticipated that Han Tao-kuo, who was engaged in entertaining his guests, formally garbed in a white satin robe cut like that of a Taoist priest, over an undergown of green wool, felt shoes, and woolen socks, should have overheard the way in which Hu Hsiu was:
Letting off his hot stinking farts of protest,7
and become enraged.
Striding outside, he gave him two swift kicks and cursed him, saying, “You lousy uncouth slave! As long as I can afford to pay you five cash a day, I will have no trouble finding a replacement. You can get out of here immediately.”
But Hu Hsiu refused to leave; standing in the courtyard and raising his voice, he said, “What right have you to drive me out? I haven’t been remiss in handling the accounts, while you are patronizing whores, yet you want to get rid of me. Just see if I don’t report what you’ve been up to when I get home.”
Lai-pao endeavored to pacify Han Tao-kuo and pulled Hu Hsiu aside, saying to him, “Dog bone that you are, you’re altogether too hard-nosed when you’re drunk.”
“Uncle Pao,” Hu Hsiu responded, “Don’t you interfere. What have I had to drink? Let me have it out with him.”
But Lai-pao persisted in pushing him into his room and putting him to bed. Truly:
Wine does not befuddle people, they
befuddle themselves.
Beauty does not delude people, they
delude themselves.8
Lai-pao succeeded in getting Hu Hsiu back to his room and putting him to sleep. But no more of this.
Han Tao-kuo was apprehensive lest the traveling merchants he was entertaining would laugh at him, so he and Lai-pao returned to the party where:
Drinking vessels and game tallies lay helter-skelter,
and proceeded to offer wine to his guests and help them to amuse themselves. The three singing girls, the two sisters Lin Ts’ai-hung and Lin Hsiao-hung, along with Wang Yü-chih:
Played their instruments and sang and danced,
as the company enjoyed themselves:
Amid clustering blossoms and clinging brocade,
Gaming at forfeits and playing at guess-fingers,
until the third watch before the party broke up.
The next day, Han Tao-kuo wanted to give Hu Hsiu a beating, but Hu Hsiu protested, saying, “I don’t remember a thing about it.”
Lai-pao and Miao Ch’ing:
Resorting to both appeals and threats,9
succeeded in persuading him to desist.
To make a long story short, one day, when they had finished making their purchases of piece goods and had packed them up and loaded them onto their boat, Miao Ch’ing presented them with some parting gifts, and a copy of their accounts, and saw the two of them off, together with Hu Hsiu. Wang Yü-chih, along with Lin Ts’ai-hung and her sister, also saw fit to serve them with drinks at a farewell party on the dock. They set out on the tenth day of the first month, but of the events of their trip there is nothing to tell.10
One day, as they approached the Lin-ch’ing customs station, Han Tao-kuo was standing on the prow of the boat when he happened to see a neighbor of his named Yen the Fourth sitting on the deck of a boat that was coming downstream toward him on the way to pick up an official in Lin-ch’ing.
Upon catching sight of Han Tao-kuo, he raised his hand in greeting and shouted to him, “Han Tao-kuo, your master passed away during the first month.”
By the time he finished speaking, his boat, which was moving fast, had shot past him.
When Han Tao-kuo heard these words, he kept the information to himself, keeping Lai-pao in the dark by not telling him about it.
It so happened that at that time the provinces of Honan and Shantung were suffering from a severe drought. The land was scorched for thousands of li, the cultivated fields and mulberry groves were unproductive, and the price of cotton goods had become temporarily inflated to the point that a bolt of cotton fabric cost a third more than its normal price. The local merchants from the countryside were compelled to take their money with them and travel as far as the docks at Lin-ch’ing in order to buy directly from the itinerant merchants.
Han Tao-kuo consulted with Lai-pao, saying, “The piece goods on our boat are worth something over four thousand taels. At present, since the going price for such merchandise has gone up by one-third, we might as well sell off half our cargo. That would facilitate our payment of the duty at the customs station, and were we to wait until we get home to sell the goods, we would not do any better. Not to sell when the market is favorable would really be deplorable.”
“Although what you say may be true enough,” said Lai-pao, “I fear that if we proceed with the sale, when we arrive home it may elicit the disapproval of our master who is the owner of the goods. What would we do then?”
“If the master should object,” responded Han Tao-kuo, “I will take responsibility for it.”
Since Lai-pao was unable to dissuade him, they proceeded to sell off a thousand taels worth of piece goods on the dock.
At this point, Han Tao-kuo said, “Lai-pao, why don’t you and Hu Hsiu remain on the boat to take care of paying the duty, while I and my young servant Wang Han pack the thousand taels into saddlebags and go home by the overland route in order to tell our master about the situation.”
“When you get home,” said Lai-pao, “whatever you do, get our master to send a letter to His Honor Ch’ien Lung-yeh at the customs house asking him to reduce the transit du
ty on our cargo and let our boat through before the others.”
Han Tao-kuo nodded in assent and, together with his young servant Wang Han, proceeded to pack their saddlebags and set out for Ch’ing-ho district. But no more of this.
One day, they entered the city through the protective wall outside the South Gate just as:
The sun was beginning its gradual descent.
Who could have anticipated that on the street they happened to encounter Chang An, the caretaker of Hsi-men Ch’ing’s ancestral graveyard, who was propelling a pushcart full of wine, rice, and food boxes on his way out the South Gate.
When he caught sight of Han Tao-kuo, he called out, “Uncle Han, you have returned home.”
Han Tao-kuo noticed that he was wearing mourning and asked him the reason for it, to which he replied, “His Honor has passed away, and tomorrow, the ninth day of the third month, is the day of the seventh weekly commemoration of his death. The First Lady has asked me to transport this load of wine, rice, and food boxes to the graveyard in preparation for the ceremony of burning paper money there tomorrow.”
When Han Tao-kuo heard this, he remarked, “How regrettable! How regrettable! To be sure:
The mouths of the pedestrians on the road
are like memorial tablets.
The story is not untrue.”11
As he whipped up his donkey and proceeded into the city, it was already getting dark. Behold:
The teeming crossroads are all ablaze with
the light of burning lanterns;
The Temple of the Nine Stars is enhanced by
fragrant mist and tolling bells.
The wheel of the bright moon is suspended
above the sparse woodlands;
A handful of scattered stars12 serves to
light up the azure firmament.
Within the camps of the Six Imperial Armies,
The wailing of painted bugles frequently resounds;
On the upper floors of the five drum towers,
Water drips in the bronze tanks of the clepsydras.
On all four sides the evening fog,
Darkly encompasses the dancing pavilions
The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P'ing Mei Page 9
